`68 Charger build Restomod

[phantom]

Hello good people of dodgecharger.com

My name is Frank and i live in Norway.
Been a member here for a little while, but without a car. But finally, after 5 weeks of waiting for the boat from USA, on monday i picked it up on the docks of Oslo.

This car is originally a 383 4 bbl, but the motor and trans are missing.

Some pics from the agent checking it out before purchase:















And home in Norway, on the way in to the garage:


Wishlist is as follows:

* Ride Tech level 2 suspension, 4-link and airride.
* Big brake disc-conversion
* Custom tan/caramel interior
..and much more.

Engine is undecided as of now, but i have a local engine-builder in my area that might take the job to build me a motor.

But first job will be to strip the car completely and get it ready for sandblasting. Then we'll se what parts i need from AMD  

Thanks for watching!

[Stevearino]

Looks like a good start.  Best of luck. Be sure to post progress pics.

[tan top]

 hello & welcome 

[phantom]

Thank you guys    Today i did a little more tear down, looks like the floor is in fairly good condition, except by the pedals. Got a few holes there. And another thing i noticed, the floor by the passenger side has a big dent in it, going upwards.

Tried to get a good pic of it:




Looks like something dented it during transport, the scrapemarks underneath are still fresh. Question is, can this be hammered out, or should i go for a complete new floor? Insurance during transport should actually cover this, if it turnes out it happened then 

The rest of the floor looks pretty good. Some rust i the trunkfloor though:

[keepat]

Looks like your car is in good shape, I have a similar rust spot on my drivers front floor. Your floor looks to be in pretty good shape other than that rust spot and the shipping dent, Which I think would be easy to hammer out. Your first set of pictures clearly show there was no damage prior to shipping. Good luck with your build.
Pat

[phantom]

Thank you, Pat. Funny, i spent my yesterday afternoon reading most of your thread actually. A lot of good tips there, amazing job 

Hope the dent in the floor will come back, i also sent a picture to the guy that imported it for me, so we'll see what he says

[crj1968]

Looks like a good solid car.

Now it's break out the check book time.   

Good luck- look forward to seeing it completed !

[Charger-Bodie]

for the dent in the floor. Get in the car with tough soled shoes like work boots and stomp the dent right out.

[phantom]

Thank you, it comes along slooowly.

Did some more work:


Looks pretty good behind:


Sadly it's not the same on the driver side:




Looks like i have a dent in the right inner fender also 

[Kern Dog]

The car may have been hit on the right side. Check the RH frame rail for damage. Otherwise, the car looks solid, much better than many cars that get restored here. The 68-70 Charger is famous here. How common are they in Norway?

[phantom]

Yes, the car must have been hit in the front, but the funny thing is that the framerail on the same side as the dented inner fender is fine, but the left one has some dents right where it meets the radiator support. Doesnt look to serious though.

In Norway 68-70 Chargers are very popular also. And the prices reflect that. They are becoming stupidly expensive over here, but of course we have fewer cars to choose from than you guys over in the states. Not sure how many Chargers are in Norway, but i see them on shows on occation. Most people i speak with here thinks the 68-70 Charger is the ultimate muscle car 

[Kern Dog]

We have much in common. 

[ChargerSG]

Look like soilid project, but check all rails and messure. 68-70 its the same here in Sweden, and the prices are getting real wacko here to. Best of luck with it and i hope you get a 426 for it

[phantom]

Thank you  

Did some more today, got the dash and heaterbox out:


Look what i found wedged behind the heaterbox. Maybe the car was sold new in California?




Someone added an oil-pressure gauge at some point


Upper cowl panel is dented too, needs replacement:


As you can see, the panel is not straight at all:

[WHITE AND RED 69]

Looks like you are off to a great start.    Any idea on what paint, wheels, and brakes you are going with?

Can't wait to see more progress. 

[MxRacer855]

I'm excited to see this build as well! I'm going to start a thread here soon on my '68 build as well!

Jeff

[phantom]

Thank you guys

For the paintcolor, i'm pretty decided for the Kawasaki Candy Lime Green:


As for the brakes, i'm thinking of the Wilwood Forged Narrow Superlite 6R front kit:
http://www.wilwood.com/BrakeKits/BrakeKitsProdFront.aspx?itemno=140-10816-DR&year=1968&make=Dodge&model=Charger&option=Drum+Brake+Spindle

Rears:
http://www.wilwood.com/BrakeKits/BrakeKitsProdRear.aspx?itemno=140-7144-DR

This may change, this is what i found so far that i like.

For wheels, that may change before i finish the car, probably one of the last things i'll buy, and the brakes need to be in place first. But for now i want to go for 19"s front and 20" for rear. Will cut the outer wheelhouses and re-weld them to maximize wheel-clearance, to get them as wide and as close to the fender as i can.
Right now i'm loving these:
http://forgiato.com/wheels/forgiato/fiocco/

Will look nice with air suspension 

[chargd72]

I will definitely be following this build.   

Interesting engine choice when you're shooting for a pro tour style build.  A 426 has the power but it's going to drop a lot of weight on the front end. 

[phantom]

Time for a little update, not much other than tearing down though.

Got the doors off, and the windshield (which cracked  )


Got the rear axle off:


The rear quarters will be replaced:




This rear valance came with the car, but is from a '69 must be. Not going to use it


Soon ready for the rotisserie


Anyone got a recipe for rebuilding the outer wheelhouse to run the tires closer to the fenders? Rear quarters are going to be replaced anyway, thought i'd redo them while the quarters are cut off.

[tsmithae]

She's looking good and is definitely one I will be watching come back to life.  To get the tires closer to the quarters I would go ahead and spot weld the seams and use a fender roller.  Eastwoods sells one I've heard good things about.  http://www.eastwood.com/ew-fender-roller-w-instruction.html

[68pplcharger]

Cant wait to see progress pics... I'm building a Pro-touring 68 Charger as well. Good Luck 

[phantom]

She's looking good and is definitely one I will be watching come back to life.  To get the tires closer to the quarters I would go ahead and spot weld the seams and use a fender roller.  Eastwoods sells one I've heard good things about.  http://www.eastwood.com/ew-fender-roller-w-instruction.html

Thanks for the tip But i'm going with air suspension, and in parked mode i need the wheels to go further up the wheelhouse. In stock, the wheelhouse angle inwards, need full wheel-travel all the way up  

[phantom]

Cant wait to see progress pics... I'm building a Pro-touring 68 Charger as well. Good Luck 

Thank you, and good luck yourself 

[tsmithae]

She's looking good and is definitely one I will be watching come back to life.  To get the tires closer to the quarters I would go ahead and spot weld the seams and use a fender roller.  Eastwoods sells one I've heard good things about.  http://www.eastwood.com/ew-fender-roller-w-instruction.html

Thanks for the tip But i'm going with air suspension, and in parked mode i need the wheels to go further up the wheelhouse. In stock, they angle inwards, need full wheel-travel all the way up  

Sounds like you are going to have to tub and/or wide-body it. I'm curious to see what you wind up doing.   

[Mike DC]

                        
Outer wheelhousings with more tire clearance - I know some people have solved it by getting another set of inner wheelhousings, and incorporating big portions of them into the outer side housings.

I haven't tried it but it seems like as good of a solution as anything else.  
You'd probably want to reverse the inner pieces right-to-left in order to make it work.